After the cable car accident on the weekend on Lake Maggiore, there were three arrests on Wednesday night.
The public prosecutor explains the background.
The news ticker.
14 people were killed in a cable car crash on Sunday at Lake Maggiore in Italy *.
On Wednesday, three suspects were arrested who are alleged to have knowingly manipulated the emergency brake of the cable car
(see original report from May 26th).
A problem with the braking device is said to have been known for over a month
(see update from May 26th, 11:02 am)
.
The suspects are said to have already made a confession
(see update from May 26, 11:05 a.m.).
Update from May 26, 3:45 p.m.:
After the tragic accident on Lake Maggiore, there were three arrests of high-ranking representatives of the cable car operating company on Wednesday.
You should be responsible for the deliberate shutdown of the emergency braking system.
The suspects have made a confession
(see update from May 26, 1105 a.m.)
.
According to information from Italian news agencies, Carabinieri representative Cicognani explained the reasons for the momentous disconnection of the brake system to the radio station Radiotre. “There was a malfunction on the cable car, the transport team did not solve the problem or only partially solved it,” says Cicognani. "In order not to interrupt the connection, they decided to leave the 'fork' that prevents the emergency brake from being applied."
Company boss Luigi Nerini, cable car director Gabriele Tadini and cable car operations manager Enrico Perocchio admitted, according to Cicognanis, that the emergency brake had been switched off on purpose.
The responsible prosecutor Olimpia Bossi said at a press conference that it was an "absolutely deliberate" decision to keep the cable car running.
The fork to override the emergency brake was certainly not used for the first time on Sunday.
Bossi said, according to Italian media, the accused had known that the emergency brake had been switched off since April 26, the day the cable car operations resumed.
The shutdown was decided with the conviction "that the cable would never tear".
Cable car accident on Lake Maggiore: the only survivor is said to wake up from the artificial coma
Update from May 26, 12:45 p.m.:
Even on the third day after the cable car crash on Lake Maggiore, Italy continues to look with concern at the five-year-old boy, who was the only one of 15 inmates to survive the accident on Whitsunday.
On Wednesday morning, the treating doctors probably removed the five-year-old's breathing tube, after which the boy is said to have briefly regained consciousness.
But he was still under the influence of the medication, reports the dpa with reference to a doctor.
"His aunt and a psychologist were with him."
In the next few hours, the boy from Israel, who lost his parents and brother in the crash, should be able to wake up from the artificial coma.
Together with another child, the five-year-old was the only one who survived the crash.
Both were flown by rescue helicopter to a clinic in Turin, where the other child succumbed to his injuries that evening.
Italy: cable car accident on Lake Maggiore - suspects with first confessions
Update from May 26, 11:05 a.m.:
According to media reports, the suspects have already made a confession on Wednesday morning.
"They confessed that they had manipulated the emergency brake," an investigator from the Italian TV broadcaster Rai3 is quoted as saying.
Cable car accident on Lake Maggiore: cause found - "That was known for a month and a half"
Update from May 26th, 11.00 am:
As the Italian
portal Corriere Della Sera
reports, the three arrested are said to be the owner of the cable car operator "Ferrovie del Mottarone", as well as the director and the operational manager of the service. You should have known about the emergency brake on the gondola.
Opposite
bild.de
confirmed Carabinieri commander Alberto Cicognani that should be prevented by the suspension of another emergency occurring problem. “The braking system had been having problems for a month and a half. The cabin sometimes braked between the pylons, then people had to climb onto the pylons manually and trigger the system manually, ”confirms Cicognani. “If the red bracket (a device that overrides the emergency brake,
editor's note
) was active, then the problem of the intermediate
braking
was solved. That had been known for a month and a half. "
The operators have even hired a company to solve the problem.
However, the repairs were never carried out.
According to the current state of investigations, it is likely that a long-term shutdown due to the work should be prevented.
Cable car accident on Lake Maggiore: three arrests in Italy - the emergency brake was probably manipulated
Original message from May 26th:
Stresa - As a result of the cable car accident that occurred on the weekend on Lake Maggiore and in which 14 people were killed, there were probably three arrests in the night from Tuesday to Wednesday.
As reported by the Italian daily
La Stampa
with reference to the public prosecutor, the arrested men are said to be the head of the operating company and two engineers who are said to have worked on the cable car.
Lake Maggiore (Italy): Public prosecutor reports three arrests after the cable car accident
According to the senior public prosecutor Olimpia Bossi, the analysis of the images revealed that the emergency brake, which was supposed to stop the cable car automatically if the cable ruptured, had been manipulated.
Even if the exact circumstances still have to be investigated, the public prosecutor's office assumes that the manipulation was carried out in order to avoid a lengthy repair of the nacelle.
"The system showed deficiencies and should have been remedied with a radical intervention and that would have meant a longer, if not very long, closure," the
Süddeutsche Zeitung
quoted
public prosecutor Bossi.
In order to avoid the economic damage that a closure would have brought with it, the gondola was then tampered with.
Lake Maggiore: To prevent lengthy repairs?
Cable car emergency brake was apparently manipulated
For this a kind of fork was attached to the brake mechanism of the gondola, which overruled it.
According to the reports, those responsible had been aware of the problem since the end of April.
Since the reopening of cable car operations after the forced break in Italy caused by the corona pandemic, the gondola is said to have been operating without an emergency brake system.
Like the entire tourism industry, the cable car operation also suffered from a lack of income from the pandemic.
When the cable of the gondola broke on Sunday, the gondola slid unchecked towards the valley and hit a tree at high speed.
14 of the 15 inmates were killed.
A five year old boy is the only survivor.
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List of rubric lists: © Soccorso Alpino e Speleologico Piemontese / dpa
